1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adapter, and more particularly to an optical fiber connector adapter that facilitates reworking thereof, prevents an expensive and time-wasting ultrasound welding process when assembled therefore to improve the fabrication and production rate of the optical fiber connector adapter.
2. Description of Related
Optical connector adapters are used to connecting two optical cables together therefore to extend a total length of the optical cables to facilitate arrangements of optical devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,762 discloses an optical connector adapter having a sleeve holder, a housing, a sleeve and an engagement pin.
The sleeve holder has a first cylinder, claws and a flange. The housing is hollow and has a cavity, an insertion groove, a flange and a second cylinder. The cavity accommodates and holds the sleeve holder. The insertion groove is defined in the housing. The flange is formed transversely in the cavity and abuts the flange of the sleeve holder. The second cylinder protrudes longitudinally from the flange. The second cylinder combines with the first cylinder. The sleeve is mounted and held in the first and second cylinders. The engagement pin is U-shaped, is mounted in the insertion groove and has two opposite arms. The arms extend in the insertion groove and hold flange of the sleeve holder in the cavity of the housing.
However, the optical connector adapter has following disadvantages.
1. The housing having the flange and second cylinder in the cavity is structurally complicated so that manufacturing the housing by insert molding processes is difficult. Therefore, the optical connector adapter has an undesirable low production rate and a high manufacturing cost.
2. The U-shaped engagement pin is thin and tiny therefore requires precisely and carefully manual or automated alignment so that fabricating the engagement pin is difficult and wastes times. Furthermore, the engagement pin fully inserted in the insertion groove can not be drawn out without specific hand tools. When the sleeve breaks during fabrication or operation of the optical connector adapter, a fabricator or user can not easily dissemble the optical connector adapter to rework. Forcing to dissemble the optical connector adapter damages the housing.
Another optical connector adapter has a front housing, a rear housing, two sleeve holders and a sleeve. Each sleeve holder has a cylinder. When the optical connector adapter is assembled, the sleeve holders combine with each other with the cylinders holding the sleeve. The front and rear housings are welded to each other by an ultrasound welding process and accommodate the sleeve holders and the sleeve. However, the ultrasound welding process requires external power so wastes energy and time and has a high cost. Furthermore, the welded front and rear housings can not be disassembled so that reworking the optical connector adapter is impossible. Moreover, the welded front and rear housings have uneven outer surfaces and deckle edges so that the appearance of the optical connector adapter is undesirable.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides an optical fiber connector adapter to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.